We investigate the effect of visualizations of electrostatics phenomena on students’ ability to integrate microscopic and macroscopic views of electrostatics in the context of a technology-enhanced inquiry project that features particle interactions. We used knowledge integration instructional design patterns to determine activity sequences. A pretest/post-test design was used to assess the students’ overall gains. The results from the implementation of the project in two classes demonstrate that it helped students form a more integrated understanding of electrostatics. An analysis of student responses to prompts embedded with the visualizations reveals that interactions with the visualizations played a significant role in increasing understanding.

Gain saturation and high-power pulsed operation of GaSb-based tapered diode lasers with separately contacted ridge and tapered section Double-pass laser amplifiers can provide automatic passive regulation of the power in an optical signal. This regulation can significantly reduce the amplitude noise on a laser beam that is intended as a continuous wave light source. Analytic expressions are derived to describe the optical-noise-reduction region of double-pass amplifier operation and the dependence of the self-regulation properties on gain, saturation, and mirror reflectivity.

Double-pass laser amplifiers have advantages of compactness and efficiency in the amplification of optical signals, and such amplifiers have been employed in a wide range of optical systems. Work in this area is reviewed briefly, and analytical solutions are obtained for the intensity of the electromagnetic waves in double-pass homogeneously-broadened high-gain laser amplifiers. Expressions are derived relating the output power to the input, including the effects of arbitrary mirror reflectivity and frequency detuning from line center. In the limits of weak saturation and of high reflectivity the results are consistent with earlier studies.